Eddies bring in fullback to fill hole on squad's back line

FC Edmonton believe they found a replacement for fullback Eddie Edward in Shawn Nicklaw.

A product of San Diego, California, Nicklaw was acquired by Edmonton in a trade with the Jacksonville Armada FC for midfielder Jason Plumhoff and is expected to eventually slide into Edward’s position at right back.

Edward requested a release from FC Edmonton for family reasons and signed with his hometown Ottawa Fury.

“He (Nicklaw) is very athletic and wants to join in the play,” said FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller following practice on Thursday. “He was a genuine concern when we played Jacksonville because of his attacking tendencies. When the opportunity for the trade came around, we jumped at the chance, especially knowing that we were going to lose Eddie. It fell into place for us.”

Nicklaw, 27, spent the last two years with Jacksonville, playing in 23 games last season and in six games in the North American Soccer League Spring Season this year.

“The trade took me a little by surprise, but that’s how the business is, you’re with a team then another team wants you and you have to pack up and go,” Nicklaw said. “It’s something that you have to be ready for. But now that I’m here, it’s been good. I’m happy with how everything went down and I’m looking forward to helping the team in anyway possible.”

Nicklaw played his college soccer at the University of Connecticut before turning professional. He spent time in Denmark and Iceland before returning to North America. He’s also played internationally for Guam, taking part in the Asian World Cup qualifying tournament last year.

“My mom was born there and then she moved to the United States,” Nicklaw said. “I was eligible because of my mom’s side and my dad was in the navy and that’s how they met, so the roots come from my mother.

“Last year, we had the World Cup qualifiers and it was an experience of a lifetime, it’s always great to get a chance to represent your country. We actually did pretty well, but we let it slip away in the last few games. We kind of missed out on a big opportunity for the island and for the federation to go far and make a big name for ourselves in the AFC region.”

Being familiar with the NASL, Nicklaw does not expect to need a long transition period with Edmonton.

“I think the biggest adjustment would be the weather change, coming from Jacksonville to up here in the cold,” Nicklaw said. “I know it gets pretty cold here in the Fall Season, but the transition has been good, the organization has been helping me out and the group of guys that we have, have been great.”

Along with his style of play, Nicklaw is similar to Edward in providing size on Edmonton’s back line. Edmonton’s strength thus far this year has been the play of their defence. FC Edmonton conceded a league-low seven goals in 10 games through the Spring Season on their way to a third-place finish.

“When the time is right I like to get forward and play in the attacking third as much as I can,” Nicklaw said. “But I do the defensive work as well.”

Nicklaw has been with Edmonton for the past week waiting for the trade to become official and may get an opportunity to play Sunday when FC Edmonton host the Fort Lauderdale Strikers (2 p.m.) at Clarke Stadium. Defender Allan Zebie filled Edward’s spot in Edmonton’s opening game of the Fall Season, a 1-1 tie on the road against Rayo Oklahoma City.

“Allan Zebie had done very well for us,” Miller said. “I wanted to go with a little more experience, but Allan is more than capable of filling in and doing a job as he did last weekend in Oklahoma. So I have no problem in playing Allan and the beauty of Allan Zebie is that he can play right back, left back and he can actually go in the middle of the park as well. He’s still a very valuable player for us.”

With 21 games still left Fall Season, Edmonton is going to need all their defenders on the roster to get through the grind.

“Last year was my first year with Jacksonville and my first year into the league and it was a learning experience and now I’m a little bit more prepared with how the two seasons go and how the teams play and their identities,” Nicklaw said. “Now that the Fall Season is underway, it was good to get a point on the road against Rayo and now we’re looking to get a result here against Fort Lauderdale.”

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